THE PROCESS OF BUSINESS ASSISTANCE TO SMALL AND …
Transcript of THE PROCESS OF BUSINESS ASSISTANCE TO SMALL AND …
Journal of Contemporary ManagementDoE accreditedISSN 1815-7440
Volume 7 2010 Pages 94 - 109 Page 94
THE PROCESS OF BUSINESS ASSISTANCE TO SMALL AND MEDIUMENTERPRISES IN SOUTH AFRICA: PRELIMINARY FINDINGS
E Ferreira (Department of Business Management, University of South Africa)J Strydom (Department of Business Management, University of South Africa)
C Nieuwenhuizen (Department of Business Management, University of Johannesburg)
Much assistance is provided to SMEs in South Africa, but many SMEs still fail or exit the market. Thequestion that frequently arises is whether assistance to SME owners actually positively influences theirsuccess rate. Research was conducted to determine how seemingly successful SMEs in South Africa areassisted. SMEs owners in South Africa were interviewed to ascertain how they were assisted. The focus wason determining what type of assistance successful SME owners were receiving. The research was conductedin an attempt to find means of assisting SME owners in ways that would enhance their success rate. Theresults of the study indicated that although the SME owners mostly sought assistance in the areas of finance,marketing and human resources, they indicated that it was not the assistance that made them successful, butfactors such as the product type, product quality and marketing. This indicates that assistance shouldprobably be sought in the areas of product and marketing even before starting a business, and only thereafterin the areas of finance, marketing and human resources.
Key phrases: Process of assistance, assistance, success, SMEs, South Africa.
INTRODUCTION
If one considers the high failure rate of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in
South Africa, it would seem that business assistance rendered to SMEs is not always
successful, does not always focus on the areas that would necessarily enhance their
success rate, and does not necessarily contribute to the success of South African
SMEs.
The failure rate of SMEs is extremely high throughout the world (Fang et al 2009:44;
Longley 2006:Internet; Maas & Herrington 2006:18-19). The same situation applies
to South Africa. According to Brink et al (2003:1) and Van Eeden et al (2003:13), the
estimated failure rate of SMEs in South Africa is between 70 and 80%. However,
much assistance is available to SMEs. This includes assistance from government,
professionals, business consultants and advisors such as attorneys, accountants,
banks and business consultants. Assistance in this case includes consulting, training,
support and advising the small business owners about any facet of the business and
its environment, at any time, with a view to making the business successful or more
successful. If there is so much assistance available to SMEs and the failure rate is
still so high, the question needs to be asked whether SME owners are receiving the
right type of assistance at the right time to enable them to manage their businesses
effectively in order to ensure their success in the long run.
The importance of providing training, counselling and advice is widely recognised as
is evident from the many consulting institutes, agencies and consultants worldwide
Ferreira, Strydom &Nieuwenhuizen
The process of business assistance to small and mediumenterprises in South Africa: preliminary findings
Journal of Contemporary ManagementDoE accreditedISSN 1815-7440
Volume 7 2010 Pages 94 - 109 Page 95
that render assistance to businesses. Amongst these are the Small Business
Administration (SBA) in the USA, the Association of Independent Consultants (AIC)
in Canada and the Institute of Management Consultants (IMC), which is found in
many countries, including South Africa. The South African government has
acknowledged the importance of SME development and has established many
bodies to support the start-up and growth of SMEs. The contributions of these bodies
still seem unsatisfactory. Literature also reveals that government’s capacity is limited,
and support programmes tend to be driven at national level (Maas & Herrington
2006:18-19; Monkman 2003:9).
The efficiency and effectiveness of support for consultants to SMEs is rarely
evaluated. However, research in the UK indicates a “positive”, a “partial”, and “no
impact” effect of subsidised private external consultants on SME growth. All
estimated models, however, indicated that the use of private external consultancies
had no significant impact on net job creation, turnover or financial matters
(Lambrecht & Pirnay 2005:94-103).
The results and consequences of interventions are very seldom published. Private
consultants are primarily not academics with no or limited interest in publishing their
results. Literature does, however, reveal that while a substantial amount of both
financial and nonfinancial assistance is offered, the failure rate of SMEs remains
extremely high.
The high failure rates could possibly be minimised through the right type of
assistance at the right time by the right providers. As far as can be ascertained, the
provision of assistance and the consequences thereof have not yet been researched
in South Africa. The focus of this study is on presenting an analysis of the type of
assistance successful SMEs received or are receiving.
The findings of the study reported on in this article will lay a foundation for further
research where attempts could be made to measure the causal impact of the type of
assistance rendered. This could enhance the success rate of SMEs and boost the
government’s efforts in trying to assist both SMEs and consultants. If successful
SMEs are to salvage the unemployment situation, as government and other experts
suggest, this research could help to promote the sustainability of SMEs, thereby
alleviating poverty and improving the economic and social situation in South Africa.
The objectives of this article are to present a literature review, to report on a study
that relates to the process of assistance to SMEs, and to present guidelines to
aspirant and current SME owners and providers of assistance.
Ferreira, Strydom &Nieuwenhuizen
The process of business assistance to small and mediumenterprises in South Africa: preliminary findings
Journal of Contemporary ManagementDoE accreditedISSN 1815-7440
Volume 7 2010 Pages 94 - 109 Page 96
THEORETICAL FOUNDATION
Assistance in South Africa
The South African government has acknowledged the importance of SME
development and has established many bodies to support the start-up and growth of
SMEs. Although the impact thereof still seems unsatisfactory, Goldstuck
(2008:Internet) stated that it is “reassuring to see the restructuring of and rethinking
behind many government support programmes”, thus indicating a positive change in
thinking on the part of government.
Business support is heavily skewed towards helping owners gain access to finance,
while neglecting the development of owners’ business management skills. Many
consultants are advising SME owners incorrectly. They assist entrepreneurs with
business plans in order to gain access to finance, and the securing of finance should
not be the sole purpose of a business plan. The primary need when growing
businesses is not necessarily finance, but ongoing business advice and support
(Timm 2008:Internet).
The majority of SME support bodies in South Africa are fragmented and in the hands
of too many role players. The interventions are aimed at personal motivation, and the
inculcation of entrepreneurial skills tends to be the exception rather than the rule in
this sector (Nieman, in Nicolaides & Reddy 2004:207).
The literature consulted does not satisfactorily reveal the detail and the success of
assistance rendered. There seems to be no quality control or feedback regarding the
assistance provided by government or the private sector. The literature does,
however, reveal the fact that while a substantial amount of assistance is offered, the
failure rate of SMEs is extremely high. The influence of assistance on the success of
SMEs is dealt with in the next section.
The influence of assistance on the success and growth of SMEs
Research by Lambrecht & Pirnay (2005:105) on the use of consultants indicates
different outcomes regarding the influence thereof on the success and growth of
SMEs. They also found that the use of private external consultancies had no
significant impact on net job creation, turnover or financial matters. Robinson
(1982:89-90) suggested that external consultants in small firm strategic planning,
under the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Program in the USA, affect
client performance. Small firms engaging in outsider-based strategic planning had a
significantly higher percentage change in sales and number of employees.
Ferreira, Strydom &Nieuwenhuizen
The process of business assistance to small and mediumenterprises in South Africa: preliminary findings
Journal of Contemporary ManagementDoE accreditedISSN 1815-7440
Volume 7 2010 Pages 94 - 109 Page 97
Smallbone et al (1993:279-295) on the use of paid consultants in the UK, reported
that two thirds of SMEs said that they were either “satisfied” or “extremely satisfied”
with the consultancy. They observed that, in 52% of the cases in the UK, managers
judged the consultancy to have had a positive influence, such as increasing sales or
cost savings, although it was also common for managers to report that there had
generally been an improved performance, which was impossible to quantify.
Chrisman & Katrishen (1994:277) also found that the established business clients
who indicated that SBDC services were beneficial (80%) enjoyed significantly higher
sales growth rates (7.78% between 1990 and 1991) after the consultancy than did
the average US business (1.13% during the same time). The employment growth
rate of these established clients was also significantly greater than the employment
growth rate for US businesses in general.
Wren & Storey (2002:354) evaluated the subsidised marketing advice to SMEs
provided by private-sector consultants through the Consultancy Initiatives scheme of
the UK Enterprise Initiative. They found that the marketing advice had significant
positive effects on the growth of turnover and of employment. Assistance had
significant growth effects in medium-sized firms, even stronger effects in small SMEs,
but an insignificant effect on the sales of large firms. It had no effect on survival
overall. The effect of assistance on survival of small and large SMEs was negative
(non-significant in the small SMEs and significant in the large SMEs), but was
significantly positive on the survival of medium-sized firms. From the explorative
analysis of Robson & Bennett (2000:201) in the UK, it appears that there is no
significant relation between the use of external consultants and SME growth
(measured by rate of employment growth, rate of turnover growth and change in
profitability per employee). From these studies, it seems that the outcome is mostly
positive after assistance had been rendered to SMEs.
Small business assistance programmes may exert significant influence on the
entrepreneurial activities and profiles of small business owners in the United States.
However, the understanding is limited about the effects of these small business
assistance programmes, the features that make programmes effective, and who
benefits from the programmes. The methodological challenges in identifying the
effect of business assistance programmes on business outcomes are, in part, a
result of data limitations and the lack of experimental design in programme
evaluations. Few studies are thus able to identify a causal relationship between small
business assistance programmes and business creation and subsequent economic
performance of assisted small firms (Gu et al 2008:v).
Ferreira, Strydom &Nieuwenhuizen
The process of business assistance to small and mediumenterprises in South Africa: preliminary findings
Journal of Contemporary ManagementDoE accreditedISSN 1815-7440
Volume 7 2010 Pages 94 - 109 Page 98
In an exploratory study by Robson & Bennett (2000:193-208), they assessed the
relationships between firm performance in terms of growth and the use of business
advice. They were not confident about the direction of causality, i.e. whether growth
stimulates advice, or whether advice stimulates growth. They found the main
determinants of SME growth to be market conditions rather than the use of business
advice. Their results also support previous studies that suggest external government
support to businesses does not have significant effects on SME growth.
Other studies in the USA that reported on the effectiveness of consultants blamed
the inability of the academic fraternity to communicate with small business owners in
simple, clear language, and the stereotyping of consultants who are often seen as
individuals who are unable to understand the practical managerial issues and whose
consulting focus is strategic rather than tactical (Pelham 1985:10-11). On the positive
side, the Service Corps of Retired Executives (Score) has been extremely effective.
Most of the clients state that they would recommend the service to a friend starting a
new business, and nearly two-thirds of them would recommend Score to friends with
existing businesses in order to correct present problems. The results of this study
also support the suppositions that the use of consultants in the workplace is vital for
the success of many business firms (Jones et al 1990:2-6).
The literature review shows that there are inconsistent outcomes and conclusions
about the influence of assistance on the success of SMEs. This brings us to the
problem as identified by the researchers.
PROBLEM
The problem seems to be that although there are many providers of assistance in
South Africa and although SME owners seem to receive much assistance, the failure
rate of SMEs is still very high. The question must be asked whether the assistance
provided is relevant and whether it meets the specific needs of SMEs.
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
The main objective of the study were to analyse the process of assistance received
by successful SMEs and to attempt to determine whether the assistance had any
effect on their success.
The secondary objectives were to:
determine in which functional areas SME owners were assisted
Ferreira, Strydom &Nieuwenhuizen
The process of business assistance to small and mediumenterprises in South Africa: preliminary findings
Journal of Contemporary ManagementDoE accreditedISSN 1815-7440
Volume 7 2010 Pages 94 - 109 Page 99
determine the amount of time the consultants spent with these SMEs
determine during which stage of the business life cycle assistance was rendered
determine a profile of the provider of the assistance
determine the success factors of SME owners in South Africa
suggest an approach in making use of assistance
determine whether there are relationships between different factors regarding
assistance and the success of the SMEs
METHODOLOGY
Owing to a lack of access to institutions providing business assistance, it was
decided to focus the empirical study on the assistance rendered to SME owners who
are members of the confederation of employers of South Africa (Cofesa). Cofesa is
primarily a professional service organisation of advisors in different areas of
business. The researcher made use of Cofesa as the sample because most of its
members (more than 5 500) are SME owners who have experienced the need for
and have made use of assistance in some way or another.
Historical data were collected by means of questionnaires. The researchers initially
attempted to collect the required data by making use of a web-based questionnaire.
This method of data collection was not successful at all. Thereafter, respondents
were interviewed telephonically, making use of a random, purposeful sampling
technique. Only those SME owners who had received some type of assistance were
asked to participate. Once a total of 200 questionnaires had been completed, the
survey was discontinued.
The questionnaire was designed with the objectives of the study in mind. The
researchers made use of a range of question types, which included open-ended,
closed, dichotomous and multiple-choice questions. The questionnaire was
separated into the following distinct areas of investigation: screener section, general
business information, shortcomings, successful interventions, and demographics.
Two hundred cases were deemed a sufficient sample (3.6% of the population) for the
purpose of this study. The sample consisted of owners and managers who had
received assistance in business matters. The sample included only existing, and
mostly successful, SMEs.
Ferreira, Strydom &Nieuwenhuizen
The process of business assistance to small and mediumenterprises in South Africa: preliminary findings
Journal of Contemporary ManagementDoE accreditedISSN 1815-7440
Volume 7 2010 Pages 94 - 109 Page 100
The study relies exclusively upon the views of the recipients of assistance and can
be considered as ‘monitoring’. Where the objective is to enhance the performance of
businesses, monitoring alone is incapable of offering relevant insights into the
effectiveness of business assistance because the effect of assistance cannot be
estimated simply by seeking the views of assisted businesses, even if these views
were honestly provided (Storey 1998).
As this study does not compare the assisted businesses with those not assisted and
only the views of assisted SME owners are taken into account, the study is one of
monitoring and provides a basis for further investigation. The researcher did not
attempt to understand or measure causal influence of the assistance.
Limitations of the study
Cofesa is not demographically representative (it was not measured by the
researchers) of the SME owners in South Africa. Although the members of Cofesa
own or manage SMEs in all the sectors in the economy, this is not completely
proportional to the sector distribution of SMEs in South Africa. The agricultural sector
(the largest sector in South Africa) was not well represented by the sample
interviewed in this study as very few of them are members of Cofesa. Owing to these
limitations therefore, this study is not representative of SMEs in South Africa.
FINDINGS AND RESULTS
The findings and results are subdivided into the following sections: the characteristics
of the participating businesses, the functional areas in which the business owners
sought assistance, the amount of time the consultants spent with the businesses, the
stage of the business life cycle during which assistance was rendered, the providers
of the assistance, the success factors identified by the business owners, a suggested
approach in making use of assistance, and the relationships between the different
factors regarding assistance and the success of the businesses.
Characteristics of the participating businesses
While more than 40% of the SMEs participating in the study were located in Gauteng,
all the other regions in South Africa were also represented in the study. SME owners
and members of Cofesa were randomly contacted countrywide. The sample was
then compared with the location of all SMEs countrywide. This indicated that the
location of the SMEs participating in the study proportionally represented the location
of all SMEs throughout South Africa.
Ferreira, Strydom &Nieuwenhuizen
The process of business assistance to small and mediumenterprises in South Africa: preliminary findings
Journal of Contemporary ManagementDoE accreditedISSN 1815-7440
Volume 7 2010 Pages 94 - 109 Page 101
The respondents were mainly in the manufacturing, community, social and personal,
retail, and motor trade repair services. The sample does to some degree reflect the
demographics of all SMEs in South Africa, with the exception of the agricultural
sector, which was not represented.
More than half of the respondents (56%) had a tertiary qualification with at least a
three-year diploma or degree, but these qualifications were generally not business
related. The qualifications were very dissimilar, but mostly in the fields of education
and bookkeeping. Of the respondents, 91% felt that they were running successful
businesses and the majority of the businesses had fewer than 50 employees.
The functional areas in which the business owners sought assistance
All the respondents received some form of business assistance at some stage of
their business venture. As shown in Figure 1, assistance was primarily sought in the
area of finance and accounting, secondly, in marketing and thirdly, in human
resources.
Figure 1: The functional areas in which the business owners sought assistance
When respondents were asked to select the area where assistance had been sought,
finance was selected 141 times, marketing 74 times and human resources 66 times.
Ferreira, Strydom &Nieuwenhuizen
The process of business assistance to small and mediumenterprises in South Africa: preliminary findings
Journal of Contemporary ManagementDoE accreditedISSN 1815-7440
Volume 7 2010 Pages 94 - 109 Page 102
The amount of time the consultants spent with the businesses
It was evident from the data that most of the respondents (64%) made use of
assistance “continuously”. This implies, for example, that they make use of
assistance for one day a week, one day a month or for one week a month.
The stage of the business life cycle during which assistance was rendered
The majority of respondents sought assistance on a continuous basis during every
phase of the entire life cycle of the business. When asked their opinion of when
assistance should be sought, more than one-third indicated that SME owners should
seek assistance even before starting their businesses, and thereafter on a regular
basis. The respondents did not seem to make use of assistance earlier in the
business cycle, but were compelled to seek assistance after some time, in most
instances, when they encountered problems with the running of their SMEs.
The providers of the assistance
The respondents generally used consultants or specialists when seeking assistance.
Less than 10% sought assistance from educational/academic institutions. Although
some studies indicate that assistance from academic institutions is extremely helpful,
others indicate the exact opposite (De Faoite et al 2004:445-447). They state that the
services offered by the entrepreneurship support programmes at tertiary institutions
are not that effective in practice, and that this could mean that these programmes do
not meet the needs, or that academics are not well suited to provide entrepreneurial
support. The reasons for not using academic institutions for assistance more often
were not investigated further in this study.
The success factors identified by the business owners
The type of product, including the quality of the product they provided, was by far the
main contributing factor to the perceived success of their businesses. The second
most important factor was marketing, followed by the location of the business,
effective human relationships and the persistence of the owner.
The fact that the respondents did not regard the assistance they had received as a
contributing factor to their success, seems to be inconsistent, since most of them felt
that assistance was important and that they needed it on a regular basis. After further
analysis, it was ascertained that assistance was only seen as a support function. The
respondents regarded assistance as important, but this assistance was not the factor
that made them successful. Finance, for example, was mentioned as one of the
principal areas in which assistance was needed, but they did not see it as a
Ferreira, Strydom &Nieuwenhuizen
The process of business assistance to small and mediumenterprises in South Africa: preliminary findings
Journal of Contemporary ManagementDoE accreditedISSN 1815-7440
Volume 7 2010 Pages 94 - 109 Page 103
contributing factor to their success. Finance by itself cannot determine the success of
the business in the same way as the right product of the right quality and with the
right marketing strategies. Success depends on many factors, of which assistance
probably plays a minor role. Using a control group who do not receive assistance,
could provide information against which this finding could be measured. It would be
of interest to further investigate this finding.
One may conclude that the respondents’ perception of assistance was not the cause
of any failures, nor was it seen as the main cause of their success; it is perceived to
perform a supporting function in the successful management of a SME. Although the
respondents of this study did not rate the assistance they received as an important
contributing factor to their success, research by Berry et al (2006:43) indicates that
SMEs where the owners/managers used of a range of business advice, were the
ones that had the most rapid growth.
Suggested approach in making use of assistance
According to the owners, most of their businesses were successful at the time of the
interview. Assistance was sought mainly in the areas of finance, marketing and
human resources, although respondents did not attribute their success to factors in
these areas. Should SME owners not first seek assistance in those areas that seem
to have caused these respondents to be successful, such as the type and quality of
product, marketing and the location of the business? Once these are in place, the
SME owner would probably need assistance in the areas of finance, marketing and
human resources.
Relationships between the different factors of assistance and businesssuccess
Correlations and cross-tabulations were done. This technique describes the
relationships between variables, and measures the extent to which a change in one
variable (the success of the business in this instance) can be attributed to a change
in another variable.
The respondents had to respond to several statements relating to their success
(Table 1) to determine whether the businesses were actually successful, following
which they had to indicate on a scale of 1 to 7 how successful they thought their
businesses were. The seven-point Likert scale was used in the categorisation of this
variable. With a mean of 4.97, a median of 5, a mode of 5 and a skewness of -.378, it
was necessary to categorise the data (as indicated in Table 2) to enable the
researchers to perform significant calculations with more evenly spread categories.
Ferreira, Strydom &Nieuwenhuizen
The process of business assistance to small and mediumenterprises in South Africa: preliminary findings
Journal of Contemporary ManagementDoE accreditedISSN 1815-7440
Volume 7 2010 Pages 94 - 109 Page 105
Ho1: There is no relationship between the types of businesses owned/managed by
the respondents and the success of the businesses.
Ha1: There is a relationship between the types of businesses owned/managed by the
respondents and the success of the businesses.
Ho2: There is no relationship between the period in the business cycle during which
the assistance was provided and the success of the businesses.
Ha2: There is a relationship between the period in the business cycle during which
the assistance was provided and the success of the businesses.
Ho3: There is no relationship between the way the respondents were assisted and
the success of the businesses.
Ha3: There is a relationship between the way the respondents were assisted and the
success of the businesses.
Ho4: There is no relationship between those who rendered the assistance and the
success of the businesses.
Ha4: There is a relationship between those who rendered the assistance and the
success of the businesses.
Ho5: There is no relationship between the period of time of assistance and the
success of the businesses.
Ha5: There is a relationship between the period of time of assistance and the
success of the businesses.
Ho6: There is no relationship between the size and the success of the businesses.
Ha6: There is a relationship between the size and the success of the businesses.
Ho7: There is no relationship between the areas in which assistance was received
and the success of the businesses.
Ha7: There is a relationship between the areas in which assistance was received and
the success of the businesses.
Ho8: There is no relationship between the qualifications of the respondents and the
success of the businesses.
Ha8: There is a relationship between the qualifications of the respondents and the
success of the businesses.
Table 3 provides a summary of the results of the hypotheses tests.
Ferreira, Strydom &Nieuwenhuizen
The process of business assistance to small and mediumenterprises in South Africa: preliminary findings
Journal of Contemporary ManagementDoE accreditedISSN 1815-7440
Volume 7 2010 Pages 94 - 109 Page 107
there were relationships between different factors regarding assistance and the
success of the SMEs.
It is clear that business assistance as such will not guarantee the success of SMEs.
The most important findings are that the type of business, the length of time of
assistance, the presenter of the assistance, the size of the business and even the
qualifications of the business owner do not make any significant difference in the
success of SMEs. However, the areas of assistance, especially finance, marketing
and human resources, do seem to make a significant difference to the success of
SMEs.
Assistance should be sought even before starting a SME. Aspirant SME owners
should be absolutely certain about the product/service they wish to sell, the quality of
the product, the marketing strategies and the location of the business. If these issues
are not in order before starting a business, it will be difficult to make a success of the
business.
Providers of assistance should be aware of the specific need of SMEs. More
dedicated programmes should be offered by tertiary institutions to equip aspirant
SME owners with the relevant knowledge and skills to start, manage and grow
successful SMEs. Vocational training programmes should be tailor-made to meet the
needs of the SME sector.
It could be of value to do further research to determine whether a business-related
qualification would have a positive influence on the success of a business. South
Africa’s SME owners seem to lack the business skills and attitude required to
succeed (Pansiri & Temtime 2008:252; Van Scheers & Radipere 2007:1; Van Tonder
2005:6). To be successful, they would probably need training, a relevant qualification
and/or continuous assistance.
Based on the results of the study, it is recommended that SME owners first seek
assistance in those areas that seem to have supported the respondents’ success.
The primary areas are the type and quality of the product, marketing activities
(including different factors such client needs and client services) and the location of
the business. Once these are in place, the SME owner would probably need
assistance in finance, human resources and marketing.
In conclusion, South Africa’s aspirant SME owners simply do not have the skills and
attitude to succeed. They need training, a relevant qualification and/or continuous
assistance in order to be successful. This study will assist in helping both the SME
owner and the provider to rethink their approach to the entire consulting process. In
Ferreira, Strydom &Nieuwenhuizen
The process of business assistance to small and mediumenterprises in South Africa: preliminary findings
Journal of Contemporary ManagementDoE accreditedISSN 1815-7440
Volume 7 2010 Pages 94 - 109 Page 108
managing a business, owners and managers seldom have all the management skills
required to be successful. This study provides owners and managers of SMEs with
guidelines for the use of assistance to enhance their businesses’ chances of survival
and success.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BERRY A.J., SWEETING R. & GOTO J. 2006. The effect of business advisors on the performance of SMEs.Journal of small business and enterprise development, 13(1):33-47.
BRINK A., LIGTHELM A. & CANT M. 2003. Problems experienced by small business in South Africa. Paperpresented at the Annual Conference of Small Enterprise Association of Australia and New Zealand, University ofBallarat, Australia.
CHRISMAN J.J. & KATRISHEN F. 1994. The economic impact of Small Business Development Centercounselling activities in the United States: 1990–1991. Journal of Business Venturing 9:271-280.
DE FAOITE D., HENRY C., JOHNSTON K. & VAN DER SIJDE P. 2004. Entrepreneurs’ attitudes to training andsupport initiatives: evidence from Ireland and The Netherlands. Journal for Small Business and EnterpriseDevelopment, 11(4):440-448.
FANG N., YULI Z. & HONGZHI X. 2009. Acquisition of resources, formal organization and entrepreneurialorientation of new ventures. Journal of Chinese Entrepreneurship, 1(1):40-52.
GOLDSTUCK A. 2008. SME Survey 2008: adapting to infrastructure challenges. [Internet:http://www.smesurvey.co.za/press/press_article_9.htm. downloaded on 2008-11-19.]
GU Q., KAROLY L.A., & ZISSIMOPOULOS J. 2008. Small business assistance programs in the united states,an analysis of what they are, how well they perform, and how we can learn more about them. Working paper ofthe RAND Institute for Civil Justice working paper series, Kauffman-RAND Institute for Entrepreneurship PublicPolicy, California.
JONES S., VAUGHT B.C., TIMMERMAN L.K. & TREWATHA R.L. 1990. An evaluation of consultant services forsmall business. Small Business Institute Directors Association. Southwest Missouri State University.
LAMBRECHT J. & PIRNAY F. 2005. An evaluation of public support measures for private external consultanciesto SMEs in the Walloon Region of Belgium. Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, 17:89-108.
LONGLEY R. 2006. SBA says 50% fail during first year. Why small businesses fail: SBA.[Internet: http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/smallbusiness/a/whybusfail.htmhttp://www.cofesa.co.za/; downloaded on2006-08-01.]
MAAS G. & HERRINGTON M. 2006. Global Entrepreneurship Monitor: South African executive report. The UCTCentre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Cape Town.
MONKMAN D. 2003. A review of DTI’s SME financial assistance programmes and its proposal to create a newintegrated financial institution. A report commissioned by FinMark Trust. 27 January, Saxonworld.
NICOLAIDES A. & REDDY K. 2004. South African entrepreneurs and their support networks: lessons from theOrient. Paper presented at the Third International Conference on entrepreneurship: sustainable globalisation.Tswane University of Technology, Pretoria.
PANSIRI J. & TEMTIME Z.T. 2008. Assessing managerial skills in SMEs for capacity building. Journal ofmanagement development, 27(2):251-260.
Ferreira, Strydom &Nieuwenhuizen
The process of business assistance to small and mediumenterprises in South Africa: preliminary findings
Journal of Contemporary ManagementDoE accreditedISSN 1815-7440
Volume 7 2010 Pages 94 - 109 Page 109
PELHAM A.M. 1985. Small business consulting needs and opinions of consultants. Small Business InstituteDirectors Association. Iowa: University of Northern Iowa.
ROBINSON R.B. Jr. 1982. The importance of ‘Outsiders’ in small firm strategic planning. Academy ofManagement Journal, 1:80-93.
ROBSON PJA & BENNETT RJ. 2000. SME Growth: The relationship with business advice and externalcollaboration. Small Business Economics, 15(3):193-208.
SMALLBONE D., NORTH D. & LEIGH R. 1993. The use of external assistance by mature SMEs in the UK:some policy implications. Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, 5(3):279-295.
STOREY DJ. 1998. Six steps to heaven: Evaluating the Impact of Public Policies to Support Small Businesses inDeveloped Economies, Working paper no. 59, CSME, Warwick Business School, University of Warwick,Coventry.
TIMM S. 2008. Seda omits important skills from its services[Internet: http://www.busrep.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=&fArticleId=4426530; downloaded on 2008-06-04.]
VAN EEDEN S., VIVIERS S. & VENTER D. 2003. A comparative study of selected problems encountered bysmall businesses in the Nelson Mandela, Cape Town and Egoli metropoles. ManagementDynamics/Bestuursdinamika, 12(3):13-23.
VAN SCHEERS L. & RADIPERE S. 2007. Why are so many managers not “managing?” African Journal ofBusiness Management, 1(4):85-91.
VAN TONDER J. 2005. ANC-voorstelle kry dalk anders as beplan beslag. Sake-Rapport, 22 May:6.
WREN C. & STOREY D.J. 2002. Evaluating the effect of soft business support upon small firm performance.Oxford Economic Papers, 54(2):334-365